An engine control device is provided, which includes an engine body where a cylinder is formed, an exhaust passage through which exhaust gas discharged from the engine body circulates, a NO.sub.x sensor disposed in the exhaust passage and configured to detect a concentration of NO.sub.x in the exhaust gas, an injector configured to change an air-fuel ratio inside the cylinder, an in-cylinder temperature changer configured to change a temperature inside the cylinder, and a controller configured to control the injector and the exhaust shutter valve. The controller controls the injector based on a detection value of the NO.sub.x sensor to variably set the air-fuel ratio inside the cylinder, and when a particular condition that the air-fuel ratio inside the cylinder is leaner than a preset upper limit is satisfied, and causes the in-cylinder temperature changer to raise the temperature inside the cylinder.

A method for operating a nitrogen oxide sensor of a vehicle having a first nitrogen oxide sensor, a second nitrogen oxide sensor and a catalytic converter, one of the first and second nitrogen oxide sensors being arranged upstream of the catalytic converter with respect to the exhaust gas flow direction, and the other of the first and second nitrogen oxide sensors being arranged downstream of the catalytic converter, includes: determining a first characteristic value of the first nitrogen oxide sensor; determining a second characteristic value of the second nitrogen oxide sensor determining a ratio of the first characteristic value to the second characteristic value; and adapting a sensor or measured value of the second nitrogen oxide sensor in accordance with the ratio of the first characteristic value to the second characteristic value.

This EGR system is applied to a vehicle including an exhaust purification device capable of purifying NOx, and is provided with: an EGR passageway; a flow volume modification mechanism; and a control device which, when the NOx concentration in exhaust discharged from the exhaust purification device is greater than a reference value, starts to perform a control process for controlling the flow volume modification mechanism so that the ratio of the flow volume of a first exhaust that flows into a tail pipe decreases and the ratio of the flow volume of a second exhaust that flows into the EGR passageway increases, and makes the ratio of the flow volume of the second exhaust greater than the ratio of the flow volume of the first exhaust during the control process.

The abnormality diagnosis system 1, 1, 1 of an ammonia detection device 46, 71 comprises: an air-fuel ratio detection device 41, 72 arranged in the exhaust passage 22 at the downstream side of the catalyst 20; an air-fuel ratio control part 51 configured to control an air-fuel ratio of exhaust gas; and an abnormality judgment part 52 configured to judge abnormality of the ammonia detection device. The air-fuel ratio control part performs rich control making the air-fuel ratio of the inflowing exhaust gas richer than a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio. The abnormality judgment part judges that the ammonia detection device is abnormal if, after start of the rich control, an output value of the ammonia detection device does not rise to a reference value before the air-fuel ratio detected by the air-fuel ratio detection device falls to a rich judged air-fuel ratio richer than a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio.

Provided is an engine system including: a bypass pipe (bypass flow passage) connecting an upstream side and a downstream side of the turbine on an exhaust flow passage; a bypass valve configured to open and close the bypass flow passage; and a catalytic activation controller configured to control the bypass valve and a compression ratio of a combustion chamber.

A system of diagnosing a deterioration of a catalyst, which includes a precious metal component and a ceramic part and purifies an exhaust gas emitted from an engine, includes: a diagnosis means comparing a diagnosis object value corresponding to an output from an NOx sensor provided on a downstream side with respect to the catalyst and a predetermined diagnosis threshold value stored in a storage means, thereby diagnosing a degree of deterioration of the catalyst, wherein the diagnosis threshold value is previously determined based on a correlationship between the diagnosis object value and a total weight value of NOx and THC in the exhaust gas through the catalyst in a state where the vehicle travels under a constant threshold value setting condition, and the diagnosis means diagnoses that a deterioration occurs in the precious metal component when the diagnosis object value exceeds the diagnosis threshold value.

In a method of performing active control between a lean operation state and a rich operation state on a vehicle engine including a three way catalyst in an exhaust path, on a downstream side with respect to the three way catalyst in the exhaust path, a limited current type NOx sensor having NH.sub.3 interference and also capable of detecting a change in an oxygen concentration on the downstream side is disposed, and an operation state of the vehicle engine is switched between a lean operation state and a rich operation state at a timing when a detection of a change in an oxygen concentration in an exhaust air flowing out from the three way catalyst or a detection of NOx or NH.sub.3 is performed first by the NOx sensor.

A process for testing a plurality of components of an exhaust gas aftertreatment system (100) is disclosed, wherein the plurality of components comprises a first SCR catalyst and at least one further SCR catalyst arranged downstream of the first SCR catalyst in the flow direction of exhaust gas to be passed through the exhaust gas aftertreatment system, a first NOx sensor assigned to the first SCR catalyst and at least one further NOx sensor and a first DeNOx element assigned to the first SCR catalyst and at least one further DeNOx element and wherein the process comprises at least the following steps: conditioning the SCR catalysts, testing the NOx sensors, testing the DeNOx systems testing a storage capacity for the reductant of the SCR catalysts.

Methods and systems are provided for monitoring a NOx storage capacity of a passive NOx adsorption catalyst (PNA) included in an exhaust gas after-treatment system of an engine. In one example, a method may include, after an engine cold start and prior to an exhaust gas temperature reaching an upper threshold temperature, indicating degradation of the PNA based on an amount of NOx measured downstream of the PNA during a fuel cut event and while the exhaust gas temperature is between a lower threshold temperature and the upper threshold temperature. In this way, degradation of the NOx storage capacity may be inferred based on an amount of NOx released from the PNA and independent of a NOx storage measurement.

A system of diagnosing a deterioration of a catalyst, which includes a precious metal component and a ceramic part and purifies an exhaust gas emitted from an engine, includes: a diagnosis means comparing a diagnosis object value corresponding to an output from an NOx sensor provided on a downstream side with respect to the catalyst and a predetermined diagnosis threshold value stored in a storage means, thereby diagnosing a degree of deterioration of the catalyst, wherein the diagnosis threshold value is previously determined based on a correlationship between the diagnosis object value and a total weight value of NOx and THC in the exhaust gas through the catalyst in a state where the vehicle travels under a constant threshold value setting condition, and the diagnosis means diagnoses that a deterioration occurs in the precious metal component when the diagnosis object value exceeds the diagnosis threshold value.